Houston taco trucks register voters as
Latinos flex political muscle
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[September 30, 2016]
By Terry Wade
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Taco trucks in Houston
have begun doubling as voter registration sites as Latinos in Texas flex
their political muscle before the Nov. 8 presidential election in a
state that has long symbolized Mexican immigration to the United States.
Riffing on widely ridiculed comments by Marco Gutierrez, a supporter of
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, that without action on
immigration reform, "you're going to have taco trucks on every corner,"
the non-partisan civic group Mi Familia Vota is driving the effort to
reach first-time voters.
"We Latinos have been the group with the most growth in Texas, but this
hasn't translated into the political sphere," said Houston coordinator
Carlos Zamora. "We want to build political capital."
Although Texas is a Republican stronghold, demographics in the Lone Star
State are seen shifting in favor of Democrats with the steady increase
in Hispanic voters, who have historically favored the party. In the 2012
election, Latinos nationally voted for Democratic President Barack Obama
over Republican Mitt Romney by 71 percent to 27 percent, according to
exit polls.
The Pew Research Center estimated this year that 39 percent of Texans
were Hispanic and that about 4.8 million Latinos were eligible to vote
in the state.
Historically, there has been a voter registration gap. In 2012, about
2.6 million Latinos were registered to vote in Texas, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau.
In 2012, Romney beat Obama in Texas by about 16 points. In this year's
campaign, Trump, whose hardline approach to illegal immigration has
alarmed many Hispanics, leads Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state by
about 8 points, according to fivethirtyeight.com's average of polls.
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A voter registration sign is seen on a taco truck, as part of the
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's "Guac the Vote" campaign, in
Houston, Texas, U.S. September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Trish Badger
Mi Familia Vota did not say how many people it hoped to register in
Texas. It said that in the first few days of the campaign, it often
had to restock registration brochures at the trucks.
At Tacos Tierra Caliente, one of eight taco trucks participating in
the registration drive in Houston, posters urging customers to vote
hung next to the menu of meat stuffings painted on the side of the
truck advertising barbacoa, lengua and pollo.
At the metal counter where they pay, customers can fill out voter
registration cards that require no postage when mailed. The group
plans to expand its campaign to other taco trucks across the
country's fourth most populous city.
(Fixes spelling of group's name, paragraphs two and eight.)
(Reporting by Terry Wade; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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